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Shadow and Shade

"I stayed up all night finishing Shadow and Shade, a fascinating fantasy world of magic, family, and what happens when the two collide. A tough and enchanting tale that will have you listening to the forest and talking to the wolves. I can't wait to see what Gerrard writes next!" Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author of The World Beneath

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A Hundred Teeth

Chaos reigned in the throne room. Prince Derric clashed blades with men in armor he had sworn to protect with his life. His men fought brothers and sisters they had trained with. Priceless works of art were thrown down to use as cover against shell fire and sizzling bursts of magic.

“The kingdom is mine!” the Blood Prince cried. “The kingdom is mine!”

“No more, demon child!” Derric replied.

The two of them charged each other. Blood Prince Karuss threw aside his guards to get to Derric. Derric’s guards attacked the Blood Guards so that they wouldn’t intervene.

Their blades clashed. “You’ve been practicing, Derric,” Karuss said.

Cut. Slash. Dodge. Parry.

“You know me, brother. Always learning.”

Slash. Stab. Punch. Parry.

“We’ll see how many books you read after crows have pecked out your eyes.”

Stab. Parry. Parry. Slash.

“Your eyes burn, brother. That demon will eat you from the inside out.”

Karuss’ eyes widened as Derric’s blessed blade finally cut his skin. It was barely a scratch. The touch of the ancient spring made it enough.

Karuss growled, sprouting fangs and scales. The shrunken heads of his enemies dangled from his armor. Troops on both sides fell back as his accursed nature was revealed.

“Not if I drink your blood first!” Karuss said, with two voices.

“Oh, brother… what have you done?” Derric asked.

Karuss roared, swinging down his blade at Derric’s head. Derric rolled to the side. Karuss’s blow cracked the floor, rending a hole two feet long. Derric came to his feet and skewered Karuss’s leg. The demon shrieked. He swung at Derric with the back of his hand. The blow took him in the side of the helmet. Derric’s sword twisted on the way out. Steaming dark blood sprayed on the floor. Karuss dropped to one knee.

A brave knight charged the demon. It grabbed him, smashing him flat, and drank his blood. Others who had thought to help him stayed back. The Blood Guards weren’t fighting, either.

Karuss saw the way fortunes had begun turning. He spun his sword in a circle, daring anyone to come at him. “Remember your oaths, Blood Guard. You serve the crown, not the man. Serve your prince,” it hissed.

Derric shouted, “You serve the kingdom, not the crown!” Easy to say when he was the one with the magic sword.

He raised the weapon to the sky. When moonlight touched it, every blade in the room glowed with the same blessed edge. His own blade’s blessing receded. He would have to rely on his strong heart if it came to that.

“For the kingdom!” Derric shouted.

Karuss looked desperately around the room as the knights charged. He was surrounded by a hundred teeth.